Second orphaned otter rescued by Vancouver aquarium in as many months
Posted July 17, 2024 2:56 pm.
Last Updated July 17, 2024 2:57 pm.
A bevy of orphaned otters are now romping around their lodgings at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society.
For the first time in its 60 years of operation, the society says it’s now home to two rescued baby sea otters at once.
In a release Wednesday, the society says the new otter, a “very tiny female northern sea otter weighing only 1.58 kg,” was found in waters near Tofino, calling out for a mother that wasn’t there.
Luna the otter was reportedly so young when she was discovered by a former society volunteer that she still had parts of her umbillical cord attached. Senior Manager Lindsay Akhurst tells CityNews she doesn’t know what caused the mother to abandon her pup.
Luna joined Tofino — another otter named after the place where he was also found in June — at the society on Saturday.
Akhurst says the two are giving the society “a bit of a run for [its] money,” medically.
“Sea otter pups are with their moms for about six months, and they’re with them constantly. They’re unable to swim on their own. They’re not able to forage at that age. She still would be nursing off her mom for the next few months. So our job right now is to basically be feeding her around the clock. We’re grooming her. We’re really monitoring her intake of food,” said Akhurst.
She says the society wasn’t prepared for how much more difficult it could be to care for two pups at once.
“We joked about it last week, saying, ‘Oh, it wouldn’t be that much different.’ Well, it turns out it is,” said Akhurst.
“We do have additional volunteers coming in and additional staff around the clock, so obviously, our resources are pulled pretty tight right now, but at the same time, that’s what we’re here for. We’re here to give these guys a second chance at life.”
She says the volunteers have to resist the urge to cuddle with Luna and Tofino, instead giving them toys to cuddle with for “enrichment” purposes.
You can donate to or “symbolically adopt” either pup to help with the costs of their care at the society’s website.
